Kittens!
by crono23
Summary: A series of short stories/vignettes involving the theoretical offspring of some of the main cast. New chapters may or may not follow, but at the moment this fic is dead.
1. Prologue

**Before we begin, a few notes about our cast...**

 **Millie: MikexLucy kid, 15  
Spencer: AugustusxDaisy kid, also 15  
Emily: PauloxSue kid, 16 (hey, not like fanfiction has to make sense, right?)**

 **With that in mind, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Ready for your first day of high school, Millie?"

The silver and white-colored kitten looked up from her partially-eaten breakfast at her mom's sudden question. Immediately she began to ponder it. Was she ready? Millie had tried not to think about it before, but now that it was mentioned, her thoughts drifted back to it. "I guess," She replied apprehensively.

"Nervous?" asked her father from the other side of the kitchen table. Millie shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, her silver ears drooping below the top of her snow-white hairline, "Y-Yeah."

"Aww, don't be. After all, your mother and I survived high school too," her father tried to reassure her. "Isn't that right, Lucy?"

Lucy snickered a bit. "Mike, I wouldn't say we _survived_ it."

Mike shrugged. "Mmm. Either way, if we made it, you will too."

Millie forced a smile, but it didn't last long. Much as she wanted to believe it, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad might happened. She had gone through middle school just fine. Why would high school be much different? Sure she had heard...stories, but they were few and far between. She would probably be fine so long as she kept out of trouble. Unfortunately comforting thoughts were not enough, and Millie soon returned to unenthusiastically poking at her breakfast once more.

"Here, I think I know something that might help," her mother suddenly spoke up. Lucy quickly sat up from her chair and exited the room, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps heading up the staircase. Millie considered following, but dread mixed with boredom kept her confined to her chair.

After a few minutes, the sound of footsteps appeared again, and Lucy returned to the kitchen with a strange pink piece of cloth in her hand. Once back at the table she passed it to her daughter, revealing it to be a bow. Slightly worn-out, but still clean and intact.

Millie stared at the bow for a second, then looked up, her sapphire-blue eyes full of curiosity, "It's my old bow," her mom explained for her. "Figured it might help. Go ahead, try it on."

Hesitant to take the bow, Millie continued eyeing it for a second, but eventually took it nervously, and began to wrap it around her neck. It felt rough, presumably from being not as clean as it looked, but that could be easily fixed. On the other hand it felt cozy and warm, giving a hint of comfort to the nervous kitten.

"Well...It _does_ feel nice," Millie admitted. "How's it look?"

Lucy smiled. "Lovely."

Content for the moment, Millie returned to eating breakfast, this time with a newfound appetite. The remainder of breakfast passed uneventfully, until finally it was time for Millie to get ready for school. Once finished collecting her backpack full of things, Millie said goodbye to her parents and left the house, setting off down the sidewalk towards the high school.

But instead of heading directly towards the high school, Millie took a slight detour down an adjacent street. She began to look around expectantly, as if looking for someone or something. Her search soon proved fruitless though, and she began to head back down her original path, only to notice a familiar cat walking the same way.

At first she wasn't sure, but upon catching up she got a better look. Tan body, black limbs, black ears, and a fluffy tail - Millie smiled as she realized exactly who it was. "Hey! Spencer!"

Spencer's ears perked up upon hearing his name, and he looked behind him in curiosity. His unexcited face hardly changed as he recognized Millie, but a small smile formed as he did, "Oh hey, Millie."

Jogging a bit to catch up, Millie soon fell in line with Spencer, getting a good look at her friend. He didn't seem nervous, but he was not usually one to show emotion, preferring instead to stay quiet and observe from the sideline.

"So," Millie smiled nervously as she attempted to start a conversation, "you nervous?"

Spencer looked at her with inquisitive gray eyes. "About?"

Millie's smile vanished. "About school..?"

Spencer shrugged. "I guess."

"You guess."

"What's there to say?" Spencer asked her.

"A lot?" She asked, slightly confused by his answer.

"You know who you're talking to, right?" he inquired, eliciting a sigh from Millie.

"Are you ever gonna be talkative?" Millie asked, annoyed.

A sickening grin appeared on Spencer's face. "Nope."

Millie sighed to herself. She learned a long time ago that Spencer was not one for conversation. Why she kept attempting to coax him out of it was something she didn't know. Maybe one day he might actually be one for conversation, but for the time being Millie had no chance of changing him.

Though even if he didn't make it apparent, Millie could tell Spencer was indeed nervous. The two had been friends for a long time, meaning Millie had learned to read the few emotions he revealed. It was often difficult at times, but she couldn't ask for a better friend. Smiling to herself, Millie continued walking with Spencer, growing equally nervous and excited as the school finally came into view.

As they came across the area in front of the school, both cats paused. They looked around for a bit, taking in the school, surrounding area, other kids, and whatever else they felt was worth gawking at.

"Well," Millie eventually spoke up. "Certainly something, huh?"

"Yeah..." Spencer responded. He was clearly impressed by the school too, as Millie could detect a hint of awe in his usually emotionless voice.

Eventually Millie gestured towards the school entrance. "Ready for this?"

"Not really."

Millie laughed nervously. "Neither am I..."

 _Another stupid fuckin' school year..._

Emily sighed to herself, brushing her tan and brown bangs out of her face as she waited for the cafeteria lady to fill her tray with whatever horrible glop was being served that day. Emily looked around, observing her surroundings while she waited. The cafeteria was crowded. Just like last year. And probably would be this year. And for however long she needed to attend the school. She sighed to herself, only to receive a rude shove from someone behind her, reminding her that her tray had been filled. After returning the favor with a swift, hard kick to the other kid's shin, Emily rushed away as the kid hissed in pain, and set about finding a table amongst the student-filled sea that was the cafeteria.

Finding a table was harder than expected. The previous year had gone similarly, with tables being taken left and right, sometimes even by a single person. This year was no exception, and Emily found it hard to keep up a calm demeanor as she came across at least three tables where a single greedy kid had claimed the whole thing.

But eventually Emily did come across an unoccupied table. A simple small one in the back of the room. It was by no means impressive, but she didn't try to find a table with the intent of being seen. Emily had no friends to speak of, and she wouldn't mind if it stayed that way. At least she thought she did.

Taking a seat at the table, Emily began to absentmindedly poke at her food, attention diverted to her thoughts, however few and scattered they may be. All she could think about at the moment was school, and not in a good way. She tended to be indifferent to many things, but school was not a subject she gave the benefit of indifference. She despised it, only bothering with it simply because she had no other choice. That said, she had already managed to survive one year. It wouldn't be hard to go through a few more, right?

At the same time, in a different part of the cafeteria, Millie and Spencer found themselves lost. High school had been confusing, but manageable so far, yet the sheer lack of spaces to sit intimidated them. They had no intention of sitting on the floor, but neither knew what else could be done if no open seats were found soon.

"See anything yet?" Millie asked nervously.

"Nope," Spencer replied, with similar, yet suppressed fear.

"Cmon, nothing?" she inquired. "We're not sitting on the floor."

"Doesn't look like we'll have a choice."

Millie bit her lip. She didn't want to consider using the icky floor as a place to sit, but if a table wasn't full it was apparently 'reserved'. Millie would have loved to argue, but even if she had the confidence to do so, the last thing she wanted was an avoidable argument on her hands.

But hope soon ran thin. The only two choices now were asking to sit with someone or sitting on the floor. The latter option would be even more embarrassing than the former, thus Millie decided to ask for a spot at the nearest table with empty seats. Fortunately the two eventually came across such a table. A small one in the back, with the only other occupant being a tan-colored girl with long hair, and whitish patches adorning her chest and lower face.

"H-Hey," Millie asked the girl, trying hard to hide her fear. "Mind if we sit with you..?"

The girl looked up from her food at the question, revealing a set of amber-colored eyes, "Go ahead," she responded indifferently, and went back to staring at her tray. "Not like I care."

Millie, slightly taken aback, looked to Spencer for advice. When his emotionless face revealed nothing, Millie regretfully sat down, exhaling slightly with fear while Spencer calmly sat down next to her.

A bout of uncomfortable silence fell between the three teenagers. Millie felt like saying something, but her nervous nature caused her to constantly reconsider. The other girl didn't seem interested in starting a conversation. Spencer was more focused on inspecting his meal and proved to be no help, leaving it to Millie to break the silence.

"So uhh," Millie smiled nervously as she finally spoke up. "What's your name?"

"Emily," replied the other girl, not looking up from her plate of food. "You?"

"Millie," she replied, shifting nervously in her seat. "And that's Spencer." Spencer hardly acknowledged the statement, providing only a small 'hey' in response.

"Huh. Can't say I've seen you two around. New here?" Emily asked.

"Y-yeah," Millie had eased up, but still retained a bit of nervousness. "First day of school and all..."

Emily stopped poking at her food for a moment and looked up, observing the two cats sitting across from her as she leaned back slightly in her seat. "First day, huh?" Emily grinned. "Welcome to hell."

"Is...is it really that bad?" Millie asked fearfully.

"Nah, boring is more like it," Emily paused to blow her hair out of her face. "Didn't have to spend a week in this shithole to know I'd hate it. Just do what you're supposed to and maybe you'll get your diploma."

Spencer had yet to show some form of emotion, but Millie was clearly scared by what had been said. Emily stared for a second, considering whether or not to say something a little more uplifting. When Millie's face refused to change, Emily decided to do just that. "Well, I suppose it's not all bad. Sometimes entertaining stuff _does_ happen."

"Like?" Millie inquired when Emily failed to elaborate.

"Eh, mostly it's just some kid getting a face full of," Emily poked at her food briefly, "whatever the hell this is whenever he pisses off somebody. Try not to make that mistake."

"You've had that happen to you?" Spencer finally spoke up.

"Thankfully no. But I did see it happen to one guy with a lot of hair. Probably took ages to get out..."

Silence fell between the three teenagers once more, interrupted only by the constant background chatter of other students. Emily returned to poking at the lump of 'chicken' on her plate, debating whether or not it was better than starving, only to be interrupted by a gagging noise. She looked up, noting that Spencer had a pained look on his face.

Spencer forced himself to swallow, clearly regretting doing so. "This...this is _food_?" he asked after a second spent to remove the horrible taste from his mouth.

"Something like it," Emily explained. "They hired a chef that couldn't cook to save his life, but apparently they don't have enough money to replace him."

"That's legal?" Spencer asked incredulously.

"You wanna argue with them about it?" Emily inquired. Spencer said nothing as he realized she was right.

"Well anyway," Emily eventually spoke up again, "convince your parents to make a lunch for you. I don't care how bad their cooking skills are, it's better than playing roulette with the crap they serve here."

Meanwhile, Millie, having silently observed Emily the entire time, slowly began to notice something odd about her. Millie couldn't understand why, but Emily was familiar. The two hadn't met before, but something seemed to say otherwise.

"Say Emily," Millie started hesitantly. "You seem kind of...familiar."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"I...don't know. You kinda look like someone my dad knew."

Emily stared for a second, slightly confused. "Well. Guess that depends who your dad is?"

"Mike?"

Emily blinked, slowly beginning to realize something. "As in, Mike and Lucy?"

Millie nodded.

"Is the name 'Paulo' familiar?"

"Oh yeah, that's who I meant!" Millie suddenly realized, only to pause. "Wait, how do you know all this?"

Emily crossed her arms and smiled. "Paulo's my dad."

Millie's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh, really? How bout your mom?"

"Sue? Wouldn't expect you to know quite as much about her."

"Eh. A little. My parents don't tell me many stories from back then."

Emily shrugged. "Interesting coincidence either way. How bout you Spencer?"

Spencer looked up from inspecting what remained on his plate. "Oh? Augustus and Daisy."

"Daisy?" Emily asked. "I've heard of her. Not so much about 'Augustus' though."

Spencer didn't say anything in response and returned to determining which parts of the food on his plate were edible. Emily - now mildy annoyed- turned to Millie. "He always this quiet?"

"Yeah, kinda. But hey," Millie wrapped an arm around Spencer's shoulder. "He's still a great friend," She finished, eliciting a smile from the fluffy tan cat.

 _BRIIIIIIIIIIIING_

Millie jumped slightly at the sudden shrill ringing of the school bell. Her right ear twitched slightly from the uncomfortably shrill sound. Spencer and Emily moved to get up and Millie quickly followed suit, hastily grabbing her tray full of mostly-uneaten food, and heading towards the nearest garbage can.

"Guess I'll see you two around then," Emily told them, after depositing the remains of her food into said garbage can.

"Suppose so. Thanks for the table by the way," Millie replied.

"Heh. And thanks for the conversation," Emily smiled bashfully. "Can't say I've had too much of that..."

With that the three teenagers each went their separate ways after waving to each other. Emily watched Millie and Spencer leave the cafeteria a different way, before smiling to herself.

 _Maybe this year won't be so bad after all..._


	2. Chapter 1: Arachophobia

"Hey guys, come check this out!"

Millie and Emily looked up from the grass they had been lying on upon hearing Spencer call them. School had ended early that day, so the the three had gone to the nearby park to relax for a while and watch the clouds roll by. Spencer had wandered off a while ago, presumably to do something more exciting than cloudwatching. Neither Millie or Emily paid much attention, at least up until they heard him yell.

"What do you think he found?" asked Millie as the two got up from their place on the ground.

"Beats me," Emily responded. "Might as well though. I was getting a little bored of that anyway."

As the two came down the opposite side of the hill they had been laying on they noticed Spencer at the bottom, leaning over something they couldn't see. He didn't seem to notice them coming, instead remaining hunched over whatever he had found until his friends were right behind him.

Neither Emily or Millie said a word, and instead stared in confusion at whatever Spencer was doing. He soon noticed their presence and began to stand up. "Oh hey guys. Take a look at this," he said, turning around and revealing he was holding a stick with something large on the end.

It didn't take long for the girls to figure out what it was. The object turned out to be a very large and hairy spider, calmly hanging to the end of the stick with its long, spindly legs. Emily and Millie were not particularly fond of spiders to begin with, but the fact that Spencer held the end of the stick a mere foot from their faces made both recoil in horror.

"YEEK!"

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"Its a rose-hair tarantula," Spencer calmly explained, calmly ignoring his friends' outbursts, "they're a pretty common pet here. Someone must've lost i-"

"We get that, but WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HOLDING IT‽" Emily shouted. Millie said nothing, frozen in fear from having the tarantula held so close to her.

The smile on Spencer's face vanished, replaced with slight annoyance from being shouted at. "Well I didn't expect to find one here," he told them. "Figured I shouldn't leave it all alone."

"A-as in keep as a p-pet?" Millie asked fearfully, receiving a nod in response.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT THAT AS A PET‽" Emily yelled in disbelief.

Spencer breathed deeply, attempting to ignore Emily's voice being blasted into his ears. "Calm down okay? They're kind of poisonous, but they only cause slight pain and itching. Not that it'll bite me anyway. They're quite docile."

Emily stared for a second, only to sigh soon after. "Fine. Sorry," she admitted. "But you're the one that shoved that _thing_ in my face."

"Not a fan of spiders?" Spencer asked, grinning slightly.

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Hell no."

"Well in that case, I think this is a perfect opportunity to fix that."

Both Millie and Emily seemed to turn a shade whiter as they realized what Spencer was implying. "You mean..?"

"Yep," replied Spencer, holding the tarantula up so it could be clearly seen, "Who wants to hold it first?"

Emily stared blankly at the spider. "You're crazy if you think you can make me hold that."

"Alright then," Spencer turned to face Millie. "Looks like you're first."

Millie froze up completely. If one thing was certain about her, it was that she was terrified of spiders. No matter how small or insignificant, she almost always jumped upon seeing one. And now her best friend expected her to hold what was a quite large and terrifying spider. She didn't want to let Spencer down, but seeing the spider held so close to her made her seriously reconsider what she'd do for him.

"O-okay. Fine," she finally relented, and outstretched her right arm for Spencer, shutting her eyes tightly as she did so.

Gently, Spencer held the tarantula close to Millie's hand, jiggling the stick slightly to persuade the spider onto her hand. Millie shivered violently as she felt it crawl onto her hand, but she refused to look at it, as simply feeling it was scary enough.

Eventually the tarantula adequately transferred itself to Millie's hand. It remained still, apparently unwilling to investigate its new surroundings. Millie breathed a shaky sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't in a mood to move, and slowly opened her eyes. She tensed up again upon seeing it in full, but the more she stared at it, the calmer she became.

"You're doing good," Spencer observed, eliciting a smile from Millie.

Slowly, Millie began to grow slightly more confident with her ability to handle the tarantula. She slowly began to bring her other hand up, lightly petting the tarantula when she felt safe enough to do so. The spider did not react, but the bristles on it's back, and the fact she was actually touching it ensured Millie did not pet it for very long.

"Well...I guess this isn't so bad," Millie finally admitted. She turned to face Emily, who had remained quiet the entire time. "You want to?"

Emily finally snapped out of it. "Whoooah no. I'm not touching that damn thing."

"Cmon, it's really not that bad," Millie tried to persuade her.

"That's what they say about school. Look how well that turned out. Loads of _fun_ , eh?" Emily replied sarcastically.

Millie's face changed to one of annoyance. "But I'm holding it aren't I? Just give it a try, it really isn't as bad as you think."

Emily opened her mouth to resist some more, but she realized there was no point. In addition, Millie began to pout. Emily tried to look away at first, but Millie kept up the face, and Emily eventually relented, if only to stop Millie from looking heartbroken.

"God. Fine," Emily finally capitulated, holding out her left hand to reluctantly take the spider.

Millie smiled happily and began to transfer the tarantula for the second time, making sure to do so slowly. Emily grimaced as she felt the bristles of the spider through her thin coat of fur. Slowly she began to calm down, seemingly getting used to holding the unsettling arachnid.

And then she dropped it.

"Whoops," Emily exclaimed, feigning surprise.

Nobody got a chance to see if the unfortunate spider survived the drop. Emily thrust her foot into the patch of ground where the spider had fell, then began to grind it into the dirt. It didn't matter if it survived the fall. Emily grimaced and began to wipe her foot on the grass, revealing that she had indeed succeeded in smashing what remained of the tarantula.

Millie stared in disbelief. "What did you _do_ ‽"

"I did the world a favor," Emily calmly explained.

"You killed it!" Spencer exclaimed, equally flustered.

"Brilliant observation, einstein," Emily replied, sarcasm practically dripping from her words.

"Yeah, but what was that for?" Spencer asked angrily.

"Look, maybe you two can handle spiders, but I sure as hell can't," Emily told them. "It's dead anyway, getting angry about it won't help."

"...Could've at least handed it back," Spencer muttered angrily. Millie simply patted him on the back in an attempt to calm him.

Emily faltered slightly upon seeing her friends' crestfallen expressions. It wasn't her fault they had forced her into handling such a terrifying little creature, but the way she reacted _may_ have been a bit mean...Emily bit her lip, debating with herself what to say while trying to ignore Spencer's angered look.

"Fine. I'm sorry," Emily finally admitted. "Just don't force me to hold another if you find one, alright? I can't stand those things."

Spencer hesitated at first, unwilling to get over it just yet. But after a moment of thought he smiled. "Alright. Fair enough." His smile faltered. "...Though I really would've wanted it as a pet..."

Millie offered a smile. "There's a pet store near here. They might have some. Should we go take a look?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Heh. So long as we can also look at something nicer than spiders."

With that, the three friends began to stroll down the street towards the store, already conversing about other things. The incident with the spider was slowly forgotten, but however unimportant it might've been, it had ever so slightly brought the three closer together.


	3. Chapter 2: September

"...And that's how I met Spencer!" Millie finished happily.

Emily smiled to herself as Millie finished her tale. It had only been a day since she had met Millie and Spencer, but already the three were growing closer. Currently Emily was still uncertain about how she viewed them, and considered the two good acquaintances, but she knew it wouldn't be long until she'd be willing to call them her friends.

Currently the three were on their free period, and were walking around the school for a bit of relaxation before being forced into a school chair for the next few hours. Emily took advantage of this to show them around the school, and in return several enjoyable stories and conversations were shared between the three.

"Heh. Interesting story," Emily replied. "Though how bout we take a break for a bit? I'm kinda thirsty."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Millie began to look around for someplace to sit down. The school did not have much in the way of seating outside the cafeteria, but there were some small corners of the school with places for the average student to relax inbetween classes. Thankfully one of these was nearby; a small number of benches combined with a vending machine and potted plant. Spencer and Millie sat down to rest their legs, while Emily began to inspect the contents of the vending machine.

As Emily inserted a few coins and selected something to drink, an amusing memory crossed her mind. "You know," she started, bending down to retrieve her drink, "my mom actually got her arm stuck in one of these."

Millie and Spencer both looked up. "Heh, really?" Millie asked.

Emily stood up and turned to face them while calmly opening her can of soda. "Yeah. Back when she was my age, she decided the best thing to do when it wouldn't vend her anything was to stick her arm up inside it. It...didn't work very well."

Millie giggled slightly. "How'd she fix it?"

"Well, first my dad came along and tried to help, but he couldn't figure anything out. Then when he went to get the janitor, she said her arm just kind of slid out." Emily grinned a bit as she recalled the best part of the story. "She was so pissed she kicked it to the point where the school just had to get a new one."

The three shared a quick laugh at the story, then began to talk about other things for a while until Emily had finished her soda, just a few minutes before class began. "Well, guess I'll see you guys around then," she said, and turned to leave. Unfortunately, a male Siamese kid had just been turning the corner, and lightly smacked into Emily. She mumbled a small apology and attempted to skirt around the Siamese, only to find he did not wish to let her go that easily.

"You!" he exclaimed, receiving only a confused stare in response.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked a disgruntled Emily.

"You're the one that kicked me in the leg yesterday!"

Emily stared blankly for a second, only to erupt into laughter. "Pffft, you searched me out over _that_?"

"Well...yeah," the kid tried to defend himself, not expecting such a reaction. "It hurt, alright? And you stood there holding up the line for almost a minute!"

"God, I zoned out alright?" Emily told him in an attempt to defend herself. "And I didn't expect to get shoved from behind either. Just let it go, dude."

"Not until I get some sort of apology!" he demanded.

"I'm not apologizing for something that trivial, alright asshole?" retorted Emily, receiving an eye roll in response.

"Hey, lay off her!" came Millie's voice from behind the two.

Emily spun around. Millie stood a few feet behind them, looking noticeably angrier than usual. "Mil, no," Emily tried to stop her, "stay out of this."

Millie refused to listen, and walked towards the Siamese till the two were face-to-face. "How bout you mind your own business?" she asked angrily.

"How bout you do what your friend says and stay out of this little kitten?' replied the Siamese.

"Kitten‽"

"What, that's too nice?" he asked as his face morphed into a sinister smile. "How bout I call you 'shitten' then?"

"H-hey!" she exclaimed, trying to defend herself.

"Awww, are somebody's feelings hurt?"

"Stop it!" she cried, growing a little misty-eyed in the process.

The Siamese rolled his eyes. "Like your stupid friend said, this is between me and her. Just fuck off somewhere else, alright?"

Emily had considered intervening when Millie seemed to be on the verge of tears, but decided against it when she noticed Millie's watery eyes narrowing and her tail puffing up. The Siamese didn't seem to notice or care, and instead stared down Millie, waiting for her to do something other than look equal parts pissed and saddened.

"What, just gonna stare at me like that?" he teased.

"No."

And then Millie punched him in the jaw.

Spencer and Emily gasped. Millie stood dangerously still. The Siamese took his throbbing jaw in this hand. For a few dangerously quiet seconds nobody said a word.

Finally the Siamese decided to speak up, "Fine, fuck you then!"

The remaining three teenagers watched as the boy stormed off down the hallway, presumably to squeal about what had just happened. There probably wasn't much time until a teacher arrived to deliver punishment, but the three were currently too stunned by what had happened to make any attempt to evade said punishment.

Gradually, Emily finally returned to normal. The first thing she did was look over at Millie, who seemed a lot less spirited than before. Her ears and tail drooped, and from what Emily could see, her face showed feelings of regret.

"Uhhh...Mil? You alright?"

Millie stared over at Emily with frightened eyes. "...What did I do..."

"Well, you socked that guy in the jaw."

Millie's face fell even further. "I...I know," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

By now Spencer had gotten up as well. Both him and Emily stared at Millie sadly, thinking of some way to comfort her.

"So...why'd you do it?" Emily eventually asked.

"Well, the way he teased me...I just couldn't take it anymore..."

"Alright, who's responsible here?"

All three looked over at the source of the new voice. A portly teacher stood nearby, cross-armed and looking quite irritated. When nobody answered he decided to speak up. "Well?" he asked. "A student told me one of you punched him. Speak up now or all three of you get detention!" Emily tensed up at the last bit, and stared at Millie with a nervous expression.

"...It was me," Millie spoke up sadly.

"In that case you'll be getting an hour of detention. See me after school," he grumbled, and walked off down the hallway. All three remained quiet as they watched him leave.

"Well, now what?" Spencer finally spoke up.

"I think I'd rather be alone now," Millie replied, and began to walk in a different direction. Both Emily and Spencer watched sadly, until they were the only ones left in that small corner of the school.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Lucy looked up from the plate she had been cleaning at her daughter's voice. "Hey, Millie! You're home kinda late," she observed.

"Yeah..."

Sensing something was off, Lucy looked behind her. Millie stood in the doorway, sullen expression on her face. It was obvious something was up. "You okay?" asked her mom, with slight concern.

Millie looked away, nervously hiding her face. "Uhh, yeah..."

"Why are you home late then?"

Millie began to sweat slightly with fear, and forced a smile to try and hide it. "Decided I'd take the scenic route..?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "Mmmhmm. What's the real reason?" she asked flatly.

"That is it!" Millie replied defensively.

"It clearly isn't."

Millie opened her mouth, then quickly closed it, unable to think of a way to convince her mom otherwise. "I...I had detention," she finally admitted, ears falling flat.

Her mother didn't say anything. Millie closed her eyes in shame. Silently, she waited as her mom turned off the sink and took a few steps towards her. Millie finally opened her eyes and looked up fearfully at her mother's neutral expression.

"How'd it happen?" Lucy asked.

Millie stared down, refusing to make eye contact. "I punched someone..."

Lucy furrowed her brow and leaned in slightly. "Why?"

"He was insulting me and a friend a lot...I just wanted to make him stop..."

Lucy sighed to herself and stared at her child, who continued to refuse showing her face. "Well, look Millie. Head to your room for now, and I'll talk with your father, okay? You're not in trouble, but, uhh," Lucy bit her lip as she tried to think of a way to voice her sentiments without making her daughter feel worse. "I...can't really let this slide, alright?"

Millie finally looked up at her mom. Her face didn't change from sadness, but it seemed to show some semblance of understanding. Lucy forced a smile, and Millie followed suit. When the smiling reached the point it became awkward, Millie walked past her mom towards the stairs. Lucy watched her go, then walked out into the living room where Mike had been watching TV. Instead, he watched his wife enter the room, wearing the same concerned look Lucy was.

"Guessing you heard all of it?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," Mike sighed. "What do you think we should we?"

Lucy moved over to sit next to him. "...I don't know. I never thought she'd do something like this," she said, hiccuping slightly. "Why do you think she did it?"

Mike brought a hand to his chin, trying to think of some explanation. At first he was unable to think of a reason, but then something clicked. "Uhhh, hey, remember when we were her age?"

"...Yeah?"

Mike hesitated to continue. "Remember some of the...things we did...?"

With a stern face, Lucy leaned in closer. "Liiiike?"

"How you...hit me? And uhhh," Mike began to sweat, "how I reacted?"

Lucy jerked back slightly, "Uhhhh..."

Mike smiled nervously and waited for her to realize.

Lucy's face immediately fell as she realized what he was implying. "Y-you're saying we passed it on?"

"Well, it's possible it was just a coincidence, but...if it's not..."

Mike looked away sadly. Lucy covered her mouth with her hands and began to sob quietly. "God, my poor baby...I don't want her to end up like that..."

Lucy continued sniffling quietly, only to be temporarily shaken out of it by an arm around her shoulders. "She's fifteen, and this is the first something something like this happened," Mike told her. "If it happens again we'll talk to her, okay? I don't think we should worry too much right now."

Lucy sighed. "I suppose..."

"She's a good kid, Lucy. I don't think she'll make the same mistakes we did."

"Well," Lucy hesitated. Mike was right. It was only one incident, and if any more happened it could (hopefully) be fixed. "Alright. Should we talk to her now though?"

"No, let her be. I think she feels bad enough already."

Which she definitely did. Millie slept uneasily that night, trying in vain to shake the persistent feeling of regret. After some difficulty she did mange to drift off, but she did not sleep soundly, and any dreams she had were unpleasant in nature.

The next day involved Millie doing her best to avoid her friends. She still caught glimpses of them between classes, but did her best to avoid having them see or talk to her for most of the morning. As lunch rolled around though, Millie began to truly fear. She didn't know of any other free tables besides the one her friends claimed, and the cafeteria was as crowded as the day before, meaning the floor was the only other option she could think of.

And yet, Millie began to realize that perhaps it was silly to want to avoid them so much. Spencer had been her friend for years, and Emily seemed understanding. It wasn't like they would leave her just because she punched some kid who kind of deserved it anyway. Sighing, Millie hid her face by staring down at her tray of food, and slowly began making her way towards the corner of the room where her friends most likely were.

Soon, Millie came close to her destination. She briefly glanced up, and saw her friends were indeed at the table. The two were talking to each other, and did not notice Millie's presence. Millie hid her face once more, and slowly walked up to the table, waiting for one of them to notice her.

"Oh hey, Mil!" Emily's voice. "Where've ya been?"

Millie said nothing. Instead she quietly took a seat at the table, and began to stare absently at her tray. "You okay?" asked Emily. Millie continued to be silent.

Emily sighed. "This is about yesterday, isn't it?"

Finally, Millie spoke up: "Yes."

Millie decided to look up, noting that Emily had scooted closer to her. "What'd your parents say?" Emily inquired.

"Not much," Millie replied hesitantly. "I'll be fine...but it just feels so wrong..."

Emily remained quiet for a change. Millie began to sadly poke at the food on her tray, refusing to say anything or look up until a hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it. Millie looked up see Emily staring at her, looking rather uncomfortable doing so.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," she told Millie, blushing slightly in the process. "Thanks for standing up for me like that." Can't say anyone's ever done that for me..." she finished, grinning sheepishly.

Millie looked up in surprise. "No one's ever stood up for you?"

"More like I was never friends with anyone," Emily said, rubbing the back of her neck. "But not anymore," she added, smiling warmly at Millie.

And for the first time that day, Millie smiled.

* * *

 **Unfortunately, that's all I wrote regarding kittens. Maybe one day I'll return and write more kitten vignettes, but for now all it is is a reminder that I cannot do multi-chapter fics.**


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